Infixation 102 - Adjectives 真係*冇鬼解?

As we continue with our series on infixation in Cantonese, let's explore the infix 鬼 in adjectives today:


In two-syllable adjectives, the infix is added between the two syllables to add emphasis. 



E.g., 麻煩 --> 麻鬼煩 (Annoying --> A-freaking-nnoying) 

However, this does not apply to all adjectives. 

For example, *舒鬼服 and *容鬼易 are ungrammatical. You might say, that's because this structure is only used with pejorative adjectives (貶義) to express frustration or contempt; however, even with pejorative adjective this infix is not always grammatical. 

Here is a list of acceptable and unacceptable adjectives for this infix:

Acceptable:
麻鬼煩
恐鬼怖
核鬼突
肉鬼酸
多鬼餘
陰鬼公
激鬼氣/谷鬼氣/徙鬼氣
痴鬼線
冇鬼用
求鬼其
是鬼但
得鬼意
(as a negative sense, as in "odd, strange"; not "cute")

Unacceptable:
*無鬼聊
*賤鬼格
*辛鬼苦
*自鬼私
*痴鬼筋
*醜鬼樣
*徙鬼錢
*冇鬼腦/冇鬼解
*奸鬼矛
*高鬼鬥
*老鬼土
*隨鬼便
*眼鬼訓

Here is the "Throw brick get jade" question of the day: 

Why is it that you can say 核突 but not *醜樣;  其 but not *隨便; 用 but not *鬼解? Semantic (but the pairs are similar in meaning) or syntactic (but the parts of speech are the same in 冇用 and 冇解) or just arbitrary?

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